


The Endgame

by TeamTormund



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Angst, Briemund Celebration Week, F/M, One Shot, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Season/Series 08 Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2018-12-26 12:03:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12058626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamTormund/pseuds/TeamTormund
Summary: The War is won, but where is the dawn?





	The Endgame

**Author's Note:**

> Like always, infinite thanks to Elenatria for editing. Check out her own amazing works!  
> http://archiveofourown.org/users/elenatria/pseuds/elenatria/works

He found her on the battlefield, almost buried under dead bodies. Later Brienne would wonder how in seven hells he managed to do that, they were nowhere near each other during the battle. But now they were here, weak and wounded, barely able to stand, leaning on each other for support.

"Guess it's just the two of us now," Tormund breathed out.

An unnatural silence lied upon the landscape. No cries of the wounded, no crows, not even the slightest breeze to move the  leaves. The sky was covered with heavy clouds, one could only guess the movement of the sun. They walked slowly, concentrating only on setting one foot before the other and trying not to stumble over the bodies. No one had spoken a word and Brienne didn't even dare to think about the others. Did anyone else survive? What's going to happen to the kingdoms? It didn't matter anymore. Brienne wondered if Tormund too was plagued by this thought, but did not dare ask him. And so they continued to walk in silence until they eventually came upon the supply train. No living souls could be found here either, except for a few horses harnessed into the carriages. The two weary survivors found food and everything they needed to treat their  wounds. Finally they collapsed next to a carriage and both fell  into a  deep dreamless sleep. The next day brought no change for the better. The light was still dim and grey and the air did not move. The stench of death and rot began to rise from the battlefield.  

"What's next?" Tormund asked after they ate. Brienne was silent for a moment. "I'm going home," she delcared finally. "Back to Tarth."

"What's Tarth?"

"It's an island in the South," she explained and Tormund nodded. "What are you gonna do?" not that Brienne really wanted to know, but it seemed rude not to ask. "Dunno. Find a nice place, build a hut," he paused for a moment. "Is Tarth a nice place?"

"It is. It's..." Brienne bit her tongue as she realized what he implied with this question. "It's as nice as  _anywhere else_."

"Good. "I'd say we move out tomorrow. No need to stay here for much longer."

"There is no need for you to come with me, I'm perfectly capable of traveling on my own."

"No doubt in that. But I'm not letting you travel alone into... this," Tormund waved his hand unsurely at their surroundings. "If you don't want company, just don't turn around." Saying that he stood up abruptly and began the preparations for the journey. Brienne stared at his back for a long moment wondering if she should apologize in some way. She did not. The rest of the day went by almost in silence, both of them only speaking up when absolutely necessary. They gathered the needed supplies and loaded them on horses. By the time the gloomy dusk set upon them, everything was ready for the journey.

 

Tormund kept his promise. As long as Brienne did not look back, she could pretend she was alone. In the heavy air she couldn't even hear the sound of the hooves of his horses. Only at night his campfire would shine like a small beacon, if Brienne would ever bother to look that way. It went on like this for two full days, until Brienne couldn't bear it any longer. No matter how far they would go from the battlefield, nothing in their surroundings changed. The days remained dim and the sky clouded, no wind would blow. Not a single sound could be heard, be it animal or human. Nothing. Only the sound of the hooves. It was on the third day of their journey that Brienne suddenly stopped her horse. She couldn't bear this silence any longer, she couldn't bear to be alone. She waited for Tormund to catch up with her, but she waited in vain. Finally Brienne turned around only to see that he too stopped his horses as well. With a heavy sigh Brienne gestured him to come closer.

They still would not talk much as they rode side by side, but it was good not to feel alone anymore. As they settled themselves for the night Tormund invited her under his covers, although they had decided to sleep in shifts so one of them would be on watch. He said it would be warmer that way, Brienne just shook her head furiously. From now on it became their ritual of sorts. Tormund would lift his covers as a wordless invitation and Brienne would just shake her head.

Their journey went on without any surprises. Every day was like the previous one, dim and silent. They met no one. Either there were no other survivors, or they were just afraid of two big and armed to the teeth riders. Brienne decided to believe the latter. The only problem was the hunt, or better say the lack of it. There were no animals or birds, not even rats. And as much as Brienne hated it, they had to look for food in housings they came upon. 

 

They stopped their horses simultaneously, looking at each other in surprise. There was a sound! Water running over stones. After the all-consuming silence of the past days is was more deafening than the loudest thunder. It was a spring, coming from under the rock and falling into a small pool and the two travellers were staring at it like at the greatest wonder of the world. They decided to set up camp for the night right there, although it was too early. They simply couldn't leave this place and spend another night in silence. And it was the perfect place to take one final care of their wounds.

Brienne was sitting at the edge of the pool, clutching her tunic to her chest, as Tormund pulled out the threads he stitched the wound on her back with. She was painfully aware of the amount of naked skin she offered to a man's sight, but there was no other way to reach her wound. As they patched each other up right after the battle she was too weak and tired to care about modesty, but now with a clear head Brienne could barely stand it. She was more aware of Tormund's careful touches, than of the threads pulled from her flesh. 

Brienne exhaled with relief as Tormund finally turned away from her and she hastily dressed. But now it was her turn to help Tormund and Brienne couldn't imagine how she would manage to touch him. 

"I'll do it myself," Tormund suddenly said in a strangely husky voice, avoiding to look at her. Brienne didn't notice neither of it, she was just grateful for his dismissal of her help. She simply nodded and went to their camp to make dinner. 

 

Brienne woke up on her own. Was it time to change the shifts with Tormund? She turned her head to look at his place at he other side of their campfire, but it was empty. Surely he just went to to release a natural need and would be back in a moment. Brienne stood up, added some wood to the fire and begun to settle for her watch. Time went by, but Tomund still didn't return. The sound of the water filled the thick air, blocking all other sounds, if there were any. Brienne begun to worry, who knows what might have crawled out of this sick darkness. She grabbed her sword and slowly moved in the direction they agreed Tormund would go, if he needed to leave the camp. Brienne stepped carefully, peering into the darkness. In the flickering light of the campfire she managed to recognize Tormund's back slumped against a thick tree. A thousand thoughts of him being injured or dead shot through Brienne's head as she continued to slowly approach him. In this moment a thick log she had put into the fire cracked, shooting a fountain of cinders high in the air and for two heartbeats she could see Tormund clearly. He was not dead, nor injured, he was... pleasing himself. Brienne froze in her tracks. Very slowly she turned away and went back to the camp on wooden legs. She knew men did such things and she tried very hard not to judge him, but... 

When Tormund returned to their camp, Brienne was lying stiff and tense under her covers, pretending to be still asleep. She waited with dread for Tormund to call her name or touch her shoulder to wake her up. She was not sure she could keep a straight face at that. But the time passed and Tormund still hadn't tried to wake her. 

Finally Brienne wasn't able to stand her own anxiety any longer and sat up. Tormund gave her a confused look from the other side of the campfire.

"It's not time yet, you can sleep."

"No, I can't!" it came out faster and harsher than she intended. Tormund frowned. "Nightmares?"

Brienne cleared her throat, trying not to look at him. "I'm fine. Just... You can sleep now, I'll cover the rest of the night." Her voice still sounded strange and Tormund's frown deepened, he said nothingthough. But as he lifted his covers as usual, Brienne couldn't hold her composure. Her horrified expression was telltale, Tormund understood and his face turned pale. Stiff and clumsy he turned away from her. The rest of the night Brienne spent staring into the fire, hoping it would burn away the unwanted images before her mind's eye.

 

It was still completely dark, as Tormund rose up from his bedroll. Judging by his looks he hadn't slept at all. Wordless and avoiding each other's eyes they ate and made ready to leave. For the following hours Tormund was kind enough to stay out of Brienne's sight, riding a few paces behind her. She was almost grateful for that. The dawn brought no light to the world. The sky turned pale grey in the east, but in the north the darkness remained and even seemed to get closer.

"We must find a good shelter for tonight. Something bad is coming," Tormund said, spurting his horse on to come closer to Brienne. She only gave a short nod and he fell behind again. They rode like this for another couple of hours until Tormund called her. He kept calling her until she finally stopped and turned to him annoyed. Tormund was pointing to the trees on his left. Too lost in her thoughts, Brienne hadn't paid attention to her surroundings. Now she saw a narrow pathway going up from the road and something white shimmering through the naked trees, could be the painted wall of a farmhouse. Looking up to the sky Brienne realized that the darkness from the north almost caught up with them. She had to swallow hard. How many more horrors could this world bring upon them?

It was indeed a farmhouse, surrounded by what once must have been an orchard. They took care of the horses. There was more then enough hay and oats in the stables and they filled the feeders to the brim. Then they carried as much firewood and water as they could into the house. The moment Brienne barred the door, all seven hells broke loose outside. She and Tormund looked at each other in horror for some long moments. But whatever might be happening outside, nothing seemed to be able to get inside the house. The fire was burning bright and steady and the simple wooden door and shuttersseemed to be impenetrable from wind and rain. It seemed they were safe for now.

 

Brienne gasped as he stooped into the cellar. They found it be a mere accident, the handle of the falldoor caught a reflection of the fire. The  cellar turned out to be a very good stocked pantry. There were big heads of cheese, smoked meat, potatoes, sacks of grain and flour, crates with dried fruits, barrels with apple wine and even some sugar. The owner of the house must have been quite  wealthy. 

"Someone's feasting tonight," Tormund's cheerful voice sounded from behind her. Brienne turned to look at him and smiled, for the first time after weeks. Neither of them was a particularly good cook, but the meal was hot and fresh. Nothing like what they had to satisfy themselves for the past weeks. Brienne even attempted to make sweet pudding she remembered from her childhood. It tasted nothing like that, but went surprisingly well with the apple wine. And the wine made a good job at rising their spirits even more. Tormund started to tell one of his stories, something ridiculous about a bear, and it took not much time for Brienne to burst into loud laughter. But the fatigue after a sleepless night finally made itself noticeable. Unfortunately their safe heaven had only one bed.

"Looks like you finally have to accept my invitation," Tormund winked. 

"I swear to the Gods, if you try anything..." the words left Brienne's lips before she could stop them. Her tone was much harsher than she intended, again. Tormund's face fell instantly, he clenched his fists.

"Have I  _ever_?" his voice was trembling with anger and offense. "Have I ever  _tried something_?" Brienne wanted to apologize immediately, to tell him she didn't mean  ~~t~~  it like that. But now the words would just not come out. Tormund was glaring at her, waiting for a response. She opened her mouth and closed it again without uttering a sound. She watched him turning away and spreading his bedroll in front of the hearth. He would not look at her.

 

Bright light was streaming through the open door. Brienne closed her eyes and opened them again. The light was still there. Was she still asleep? No. She was awake for quite awhile now, not wanting to open her eyes and face whatever trouble this day would bring. She dreaded to face Tormund after what happened. But in the end Brienne had to open her eyes and was now seeing this. Light! First light after... Slowly she stood up and went to the door. Carefully Brienne held her hand into the golden beam, it was warm. Taking one last deep breath, Brienne stepped into the light and out of the door.

This was not the world she left behind the door the day before. The sky was bluer than Brienne ever remembered, not a single cloud upon it, just swarms of birds flying in every direction, filling the air with their voices. Light breeze was carrying the scent of flowers. Brienne lowered her eyes to see all the trees green. The vibrant green of a spring morning. Only now did she see Tormund standing barefoot in the grass only a few paces ahead. Slowly Brienne walked toward him, suddenly not afraid of what he might say to her. Tormund spun around as she touched his shoulder. His eyes glistening with tears.

"Is this heaven? Are we dead?"

"No." Brienne shook her head. "I don't think we are."

And then there was no shame, or pain and everything felt right and how it was supposed to be. 


End file.
